Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas Part 117

"O seeker of Truth!..."

O seeker of Truth!

If thou desirest that G.o.d may open thy (spiritual) eye, thou must supplicate unto G.o.d, pray to and commune with Him at midnight, saying:

"O Lord, I have turned my face unto thy Kingdom of Oneness and am drowned in the sea of Thy mercy! O Lord, enlighten my sight by beholding Thy lights in this dark night, and make me happy by the wine of Thy love in this wonderful age! O Lord, make me hear Thy call, and open before my face the doors of Thy heaven, so that I may see the light of Thy glory (Baha') and become attracted to Thy beauty!

"Verily, thou art the Giver, the Generous, the Merciful, the Forgiving!"

At that time such signs will appear which will guide thee to the Kingdom of Thy Lord, the Merciful.

The babe dressed in the white garment that gave thee the jessamine is a fragrance of the fragrances of G.o.d, reared through His love, a sign of His signs and a breeze of His breezes. It hath a wonderful power and there shall be for it astonishing states to the minds and spirits. Understand what I say to thee through the best of symbols.

"O thou maid-servant of G.o.d!..."

O thou maid-servant of G.o.d!

Thy writing was considered. Thank G.o.d that thou wert fed from the table which hath descended from heaven. That food is the "I am the bread which descended from heaven," recorded in the Gospel. That is faith, certainty, love and knowledge. I ask G.o.d that, day by day, thy steps may progress, that thou mayest grow firmer in the love of G.o.d; that unto thee and thy kindred a blessing of G.o.d shall come, and that thou mayest remain protected and sheltered under all conditions. Thus, may thy weakness be changed to strength and thy inability to power.

"O ye dear servants of G.o.d!...."

O ye(305) dear servants of G.o.d!

Your letter received and the contents proved excellent. That which is the desire of you hearts is the utmost hope of the daughters of the Kingdom; that is, they wish to sacrifice themselves for the Beauty of Abha(306) and offer their lives for His Holiness, the Supreme.(307)

In reality, the radiant, pure hearts are the Mashrak-el-Azcar and from them the voice of supplication and invocation continually reacheth the Supreme Concourse.

I ask G.o.d to make the heart of every one of you a temple of the Divine Temples and to let the lamp of the great guidance be lighted therein; and when the hearts find such an attainment, they will certainly exert the utmost endeavor and energy in the building of the Mashrak-el-Azcar; thus may the outward express the inward, and the form (or letter) indicate the meaning (or reality).

"O servant of G.o.d!..."

O servant of G.o.d!

Give thanks to G.o.d, for thou hast come to the Holy Land, visited the Sacred Threshold, a.s.sociated with us for a few days and heard the divine admonitions, which are in the heavenly Books. Now return, behave and act with perfect firmness, according to the heavenly teachings, in those regions, in order that you may become the cause by which human perfections will be attained.

"O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of G.o.d!..."

O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of G.o.d!

Give thanks unto G.o.d for having revealed unto thee, in visions, the mysteries of His Kingdom and for having strengthened thee to attain certain revelations which show thine utmost attraction and constancy unto this great Cause.

Verily, the three birds are the three holy souls. The one on the right is His Holiness the great Bab, the one on the left is His Honor the Khudoos,(308) the glorious soul, and the great bird in the middle is the Greatest Name.(309) The light shining from the Supreme Horizon is the Beauty of El-Abha. These birds descended from an infinite height and the nearer they came to earth the more their majesty and glory became manifest. All nations were promised by a sure promise and were awaiting with anxiety and longing the coming of the Promised One. The two birds accompanying the great bird in the center signifies that the Bab and His Honor the Khudoos were both under the wings of the Greatest name. As those birds descended and their shadows extended vertically over the expectants, as the sun approacheth the zenith at noontide, at this time thou hast seen a majestic being in the form of man upon the back of the huge bird in the center. This person in the human form is the "divine station" mentioned in the Bible: "Let us make man in our image after our likeness." And the divine lights were reflected from the reality of the Greatest Name.

Although this station is far from the minds and understandings, yet its lights are apparent, its rays reflected and its brilliancy manifested throughout the universe.

The white garments signify holy dignity and a station sanctified from color, i.e., free from the universal conditions and material qualities.

That luminous countenance, manifested in beauty, signifieth that the divine lights shone forth from the human form, which were reflected and descended upon thee, dazzling the eyes of those who were perceiving it as the sun dazzles the eyes of those who try to look upon it. That divine form manifested itself in America and entered the great Temple which shall soon be constructed therein. this glorious Temple resembles the Oriental edifices and soon thou wilt see it erected there with a most solid foundation and strongest basis. That divine face will beam upon numberless souls who will enter this Temple.

Regarding the table laid in that magnificent house: This is the heavenly table of divine knowledge, love and eternal life. As to the people gathered there, they are the beloved of G.o.d and His chosen ones whose faces shine with wonderful and heavenly beauty. The woman sitting at the side of the Temple is the law of G.o.d, which will soon dispel all veils and its beauty will appear, after which it shall be established forever and ever. The stamped coins presented to the woman sitting in that honored station, are the good deeds and actions of the beloved of G.o.d and His maid-servants, submitted with praise, greetings and great thanksgiving unto that holy law. The beautiful woman is blessed by being touched by that Merciful Being the glory of whose blessing shall suffuse the universe. Then the Merciful Being returned to His station, mounting the bird and ascended to the Supreme Horizon in the infinite realm.

This vision showeth that thou, O confirmed and attracted one, by the breezes of G.o.d will soon be acquainted with the ancient mysteries, for the Manifest Light will appear to thee. The vision also signifieth that a Mashrak-el-Azcar will soon be established in America. The cries of supplication and invocation will be raised to the Highest Kingdom therefrom and, verily, the people will enter into the religion of G.o.d by troops with great enthusiasm and attraction.

Concerning thy vision of the angels surrounding the great white throne: This "throne" is the body of the Greatest name. The beautiful and glorious person riding upon the white horse is the Greatest Name and the white horse means also His glorious body. The herald who proclaimed the written names is Abdul-Baha who announceth the names of those who deserve salvation and are firm in the Covenant of G.o.d, and thou art one of those people, the people of salvation. Be thankful for this great favor.

"O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of G.o.d!..."

O thou who art attracted to the Fragrances of G.o.d!

Verily, thy coming, at this time, unto this shining, blessed Holy Land is not consistent with wisdom, but when the (proper) time cometh, we shall give thee permission to come to this Spot of Light. Thank thou G.o.d for that the love of G.o.d hath pervaded thee and seized the reins from thy hands. This spiritual love shall surely pervade all regions.

As to the human souls (or individuals): Unless they acquire the light, they are unable to shine upon other individuals. But when a man ariseth to expound the arguments of G.o.d and invite people to enter in the religion of G.o.d, and when he uttereth those argumments and advanceth consummate proofs concerning the appearance of the great Kingdom, then intense love shall become manifest in his heart. This love causeth the development of this spirit by the grace of the beneficent Lord. Consider, O maid-servant of G.o.d, the bearer who brought the garment of Joseph to Jacob. That messenger was the bearer of the garment, but he could not inhale the fragrance of Joseph. But Jacob, whose nostrils were pure, inhaled the fragrances of Joseph from a long distance.

It may be that man can guide a blessed, holy soul into the Kingdom of G.o.d while he, himself, is deprived therof. Consider Judas Iscariot: He invited others, while he, himself, was deprived of the Kingdom of G.o.d. But in spiritual training (or development) it is impossible for an imperfect one to perfect another or train another unless he first conquers his own self and desire and becomes purified from selfish impurities in order to become capable of merciful slendors. When he acquires divine bounties, then he is able to train another. An ignorant man hath no power to teach a seeker (of knowledge) and a poor man hath no power to succor a needy one.

Consequently, be thou a.s.sured that, verily, man needs to wish for eternal life and then confer the same upon another. These human perfections and merciful bounties are that peace which was promised and spoken of by Christ.

Then know thou that, verily, the people of Baha' must need be distinguished from others in all respects, until they become the lamps of the True One among the creatures and the stars of guidance shining from the Supreme Concourse.

Then know thou, verily, that Luminous Man, the lights of whose Face dazzle the eyes and before whom thou knelt down when thou sawest His light, is the Greatest Name, the Ancient Light, the Honorable Temple!

"O thou sincere servant of Baha'o'llah!..."

O thou sincere servant of Baha'o'llah!

Thy letter was received and its content was the cause of infinite happiness, for it was an indication of thy firmness in the faith and thy steadfastness in the Covenant and Testament. Today, the greatest of all t.i.tles and praises are firmness and steadfastness, for the tests and trials are of the utmost intensity. I ask G.o.d that day by day thou mayest increase in steadfastness, so like unto a solid rock thou mayest withstand the tempestuous sea of test.